When An Angel Cries
by LatimerBaka
Summary: Its tears will imprint your flesh, flowing down and down, burning... YohNa HaoNa RenPiri LysergJeanne HoroTam FaustEliza
1. Prologue: Icy Weather, The Introduction

**Shaman King**

**When An Angel Cries**

**Rating: T**

**Genre: Fantasy/ Action Adventure**

**Side Genres: Romance/ Supernatural**

**Pairings: HaoAnna YohAnna LysergJeanne RenPirika HoroHoroTamao FaustVIIIEliza And Some Others…**

**Fiction-press isn't working So I made up this idea. As you can see, my writing skills have probably not improved at all, but yeah X D **

**Note: This takes characters from: Following My Heart**

**Part One: Decaying Serenade **

**Prologue: Icy Weather; The Introduction **

She clutched her flimsy coat harder as a cold gust blew past, causing her to shiver. She let out a ragged breath, biting her lower lip as her black eyes surveyed the area around her. Sure, she was used to the cold, but on this night the temperature was ridiculously low and it was the middle of summer.

With her light blue bangs covering her eyes, she shook her head and turned on her heel, approaching the door to a comfortable, heated area. It was just too icy for her liking, so much so she thought her heart would not be immune.

**- - - - - - - - -**

He gave the man a grateful grin and received a somewhat similar one back as the repairman hungrily glanced over his yen. He bid Yoh a farewell and opened the door, becoming enveloped by the developing shadows. Yoh closed his eyes as an abrupt blast a cold wind rippled through his hair. He closed the door hastily and sighed resignedly, before joining the blonde curled up on the couch, swarmed by a massive blanket.

He smiled warmly at the scene, before black eyes radiating annoyance locked onto him. The blonde seemed to be extremely unhappy about the cold weather, as she could not lounge about and freely watch her soaps. Their heating system had failed them, so now the large, spirit filled house they resided in was just a large, cold, spirit filled house.

He neared her, but paused briefly when she narrowed her eyes. He scratched the back his head in a meek fashion, before opting to sit on the floor by her. He rubbed his hands together, his breath showing as what looked like a puffy bit of white smoke. As she observed him attempting to warm himself there, the blonde's hard eyes softened and she rolled her eyes.

The boy, lost in deep though, jerked when he felt a light tap upon his shoulder. He craned his neck to see the blonde staring down at him, her face free of expression, but the cover pulled up to reveal a place for him. He blinked confusedly at her, somewhat startled at her behaviour, before a pleasant filled grin broke out on his face. He was by her side in an instant, his head leaning against hers.

She stiffened at the contact, but after a few moments relaxed, allowing warmth to wash over her. After a few moments, she heard soft snoring. Her eyes widening slightly, she was met by quite an adorable sight; her fiancé fast asleep. As much as she despised showing weakness, she couldn't prevent her lips from curving upwards in a soft, sweet smile. She reached for the big, orange headphones he wore and removed them, placing them upon the carpet next to the couch.

The fact that she shifted made the boy grumble something as his head changed position; resting against her head to leaning upon her shoulder. She rolled her eyes again, a habit she had come to be using a lot recently before feeling her own lids drooping, his rhythmic breathing lulling her to sleep. She gave out a yawn, before slowly she placed her head alongside his, falling into a content slumber.

**- - - - - - - - - -**

The Tao looked around, frowning lightly. His older sister speculated upon what he was feeling from a distance. Snow had not yet fallen, yet the forecast had said it may as well due to the cold. Even though their heating system worked fine, blowing out hot air at full blast she still felt the need to have a thin blanket covering her. Her guardian arched a brow at Ren, before shaking his head and seating himself next to Jun, who had now immersed herself in reading.

It was badly freezing, but he was not going to let his older sister think of him as a weakling. Ren's brows furrowed as he let out a grumble, rubbing his arms. He went rigid when he felt Jun's dark blue eyes boring into his back and somewhere along the lines realised he had been caught.

He swivelled around to fully face her, amber eyes shining with defiance. Jun mentally chuckled and sympathised with her younger brother in a way. His pride really was going to be the death of him someday.

Jun pulled the blanket off and reached her feet, causing the two males in the room to gawk. She gave them a light hearted glare, before folding her arms and sticking her nose in the air.

"I'm fine. Nothing gets to me."

Pairon blinked in puzzlement, while Ren felt his face heat up. He hated when anyone, especially a family member, tried to impersonate him. It was even more so humiliating it was a woman doing this impersonation oh so very badly…

Jun gave him a triumphant smirk when Ren grunted and walked towards her, plonking himself down upon the couch. He grabbed and yanked the small blanket up to cover himself, all the while giving his sister an uncompromising glare. Her smirk vanished and was replaced by a motherly smile, as she headed towards the kitchen, claiming she was going to make some lovely hot chocolate.

**- - - - - - - - - - - -**

"Hey," the Ainu spoke aloud, attracting Manta's attention, "how long will this take?" At the immatureness of the query, Manta hung his head, sweatdropping, while HoroHoro caught a whiff of butter and disappeared into the forming crowds.

They were outside and it was creeping up to five in the afternoon. Anna had ordered them to brave the cold and get the groceries, as she didn't have the heart to send Yoh. Understanding her decision, they agreed with her and went out, kind of like foolhardy explorers. In no time, rushing people in a similar situation had crowded around them.

It was rather odd to see so many out, but they could not do anything about it. HoroHoro had opted to go into the nice warm shop to get the groceries, while Manta stayed outside, becoming frozen…

But, HoroHoro, who was not all that familiar with this place, nor usually bought food, soon got either distracted or lost. He may have asked directions, but on the first scent of honeyed butter (O.O) he was off in an instant, mind irrational.

So now the human was by his lonesome, a few people around him murmuring quietly. He brooded and noted the blue spikes from the Ainu and then a raged yell. Manta rolled his eyes, as HoroHoro pursued the customer who had brought the butter just before him. The young woman, surprised and assuming he was some sort of mugger, let out a shrill yelp and dashed off, icy boy right on her tail. Other people agreed with her assumption and joined the chase, trying to protect her. Manta sighed and shook his head, before making the decision to nip back to the Asakura house and explain the predicament; hoping the cold weather wouldn't make Anna icier.

**- - - - - - - - - - - -**

"What I don't get," the comedian mused as he stroked his chin, "is exactly why the weather is the pits."

Tucking a loose strand of wild black hair behind his ear, equally black eyes narrowed at the African American and he folded his arms.

"As long as you don't crack a crappy joke about it." He muttered disdainfully, grunting in annoyance with a twinkle appeared in Chocolove's eyes.

"Rude language my fiery black haired amigo."

"Huh? You're Spanish now?"

"Naw. I'm just flaunting my intelligence."

"Keh. I bet you don't even know what 'flaunting' means. I bet you just picked it up when they asked you to stop flaunting your rubbish jokes…"

"You're moody."

"Why not? I'm stuck with you after all…"

**- - - - - - - - - - - - -**

"Hao, why exactly are we patrolling the area when it's about to snow?" The male with dark blue enquired, catching the first snowflake in his hand. The long haired brunette paused briefly, only to flash him a reassuring smile.

"We're doing good, good deeds… You know Ryoi, ya should really loosen up."

The shaman scratched his cheek thoughtfully, before his forehead creased.

"Are you only acting good because of what that fortune teller woman said?"

"Wha..? Uh…Iie! I…I just…turned over a new leaf!"

"Well, you know, something's funny about what you said, 'cause doesn't Hao mean 'leaf king' or something like…"

"Ryoi. Shaddup."

"Leaf king managed, but not shaman King…"

"Ryoi!"

"Hao-sama, why do you not obliterate him with the spirit of fire?" Opacho queried, tilting her head to the side and frowning lightly. Ryoi gawked, slightly nervous and affronted by the statement from such a small, innocent looking person. Hao gave a very Yoh grin to Opacho and knelt down to her level, patting her bushy black hair.

"I'll consider your intriguing idea."

"Wha..? But…"

"But for now, I need this hapless excuse for a shaman." He sighed despondently, before reaching his feet and dusting himself down. Ryoi glowered at him and looked away, abruptly, while Hao merely beamed. Opacho giggled at the situation, all the while observing her master with large, round, intent eyes.

"So…where are we headed?" Ryoi questioned, dropping his strop. Hao contemplated momentarily, before pointing to a mountain range a little bit away.

"We're going to the ice village Manomaku. There's some sort of ice monster affecting the weather of ¾ of Japan."

"Geez that must be powerful." Ryoi visibly cringed. Hao nodded and Opacho blinked up at the two, clearly unaffected by the frightful revelation. Regaining his cheerful outer look on things, Hao once again grinned at everyone in a relaxed manner, before balling his fist, raising it triumphantly and marching off.

"Right! Let's go!"

**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - **

"Y'know, I am seriously blaming you if ANYTHING happens." Marco stated in a stern tone, glasses flashing as he surveyed the young green haired dowser. Lyserg gulped and nodded his head vigorously. Marco narrowed his eyes at him, making the other two in the room sweatdrop. He was debating whether he should allow the boy within an inch of Jeanne…

Well, noting the way that Jeanne's stare towards him was turning into a painful glare, he chose the option of not being blasted by female temper and sighing in a business like way, stepped to the side, motioning with his hand for Lyserg to pass. He scratched the back of his head, before ambling toward the girl with long silvery hair, who smiled sweetly as he neared.

At her smile, he blushed timidly and resumed scratching the back of his head, sending the girl spiralling into soft giggles. As these giggles and anxiousness was beginning to pester him, Marco pushed his glasses up and placed his hands on Lyserg's shoulders, making the dowser jerk from shock. He was steered away from the ruby eyed former iron maiden, whose brows knitted together in annoyance as her 'protector' took her friend away.

Out of Jeanne's hearing range, Marco let go of Lyserg and leaned against the wall, crossing his arms in a boss look. "Listen here Lyserg. We are indebt to your service against Hao, but if you get too…friendly with Jeanne-sama, we may have to deal with you." Lyserg blinked, resisting the urge to roll his eyes.

Talk about paranoia.

"Of course Marco-san." He blurted out, bowing his head. He nodded approvingly in a grim fashion, before yet again pushing his glasses up. Lyserg stiffened as he walked past, but his tensed muscles lessened when Marco was back, lecturing Jeanne in the softest voice he could come out with.

He was soon by their side yet again though and he and Jeanne exchanged secret smiles with Marco striding briskly ahead, oblivious.

**- - - - - - - - - - - - - -**

"For Kami's sake," Kino uttered in a flustered manner, unnerving Tamao somewhat, who was twiddling her fingers; "this weather is going to be the death of me."

As if to confirm this, the elderly itako let out a series of sharp coughs, Tamao flinching with each one. Yohmei felt sweat form upon his face as he tried to tend to his wife. Kino was not usually harassed by illness, as itako's were generally stronger against illness than any shaman, but it had finally caught up with her; and badly.

"Um…Tamao…" Yohmei started.

"H…hai?" she replied, still not fully at grasp with the current situation.

"Can you go get me some medicine? I believe it is on the…"

"Pah! I need no human tools. I may be in old bones, but I will not succumb to weakness."

"But dear…"

"Don't worry Yohmei-sama," Tamao cut in politely, smiling uneasily, "I think I know where to go."

And before Yoh's grandmother could protest, the pink haired girl was gone in a flash, followed by a sigh of relief from Yohmei.

**- - - - - - - - - - - - - -**

"You know Kyoko; you aren't very good with directions."

"…Shut it!"

This was the predicament surrounding the temperamental boy and the one who cracked the jokes that were so bad they'd make you laugh. Chocolove arched a brow as his ally struggled to contend with the confusing yet amazing force known as a…

Travel map…

"You can't read maps? Honestly it isn't that hard. Lemme try and read it so we can get outta here."

"Meh." He snapped back, pulling the map from Chocolove's reach. The comedian sighed wearily, before deigning to plonk himself down upon the grass and lie down in a Yoh style.

Spurred on by his pride, Kyoko remained scanning the map; changing his view point of it, reading every single small word, tracing his finger along every single line…

After about half an hour, he let out a yell of protest and anger, discarding the map. Chocolove proceeded to gape as in frantic fury the boy began to stomp on it, followed by ripping it to pieces and flinging the remnants somewhere.

The two were silent for a moment, before Chocolove hung his head and sweatdropped.

"You do realise you attacked and destroyed our any means of direction, right?"

Kyoko 'humphed' and crossed his arms defiantly, closing his arms and not showing a flicker of concern upon his features.

"Serves the map thingy right. It was deceiving me. I COULDN'T read it, ya see, it was bogus…"

**Tsuzuku**

**A/N: That was weird X D Ryoi as you may recognise is from Following My Heart, whilst Kyoko is a completely new character I thought of in like…two seconds : D So, I suppose I'll see you with a new chappie soon if fiction-press refuses to comply : ( **


	2. 1: A Visitor? Fighting The Cause

**Shaman King**

**When An Angel Cries**

**Rating: T**

**Genre: Fantasy/ Action Adventure**

**Side Genres: Romance/ Supernatural**

**Pairings: HaoAnna YohAnna LysergJeanne RenPirika HoroHoroTamao FaustVIIIEliza And Some Others…**

**Fiction-press isn't working So I made up this idea. As you can see, my writing skills have probably not improved at all, but yeah X D **

**Note: This takes characters from: Following My Heart**

**Thank You the two reviewers : ) **

**Part One: Decaying Serenade**

**Chapter One: A Visitor? Fighting The Cause**

"What are you doing, baka?" The girl snorted quizzically, proceeding to tie up her long hair. Amber eyes flickered dangerously at her tone of voice, but their owner merely shook his head and folded his arms, dismissing her presence. She let out an exasperated sigh, before clenching her fists and approaching him. He felt her behind him, hovering…but showed no signs of acknowledgement. Perhaps he should of, because he felt her ki getting bigger and bigger…

"Y'know, you shouldn't talk to me like that," he scoffed, trying to halt her increasing anger, "after all, I would have been miles more happy if HoroHoro hadn't dropped you in on us and if you were miles and miles away."

"You'll be miles and miles away if you speak like that again." He thought he heard her murmur. Her ki spiked when he smirked triumphantly at her. Luckily for the Tao, the smiling, green haired doshi appeared at the entrance, with steaming mugs of tea.

"Pirika-chan," she remarked, still smiling, "I do hope you're enjoying your stay. And that a certain pointy haired boy is not making things difficult…" She lowered her voice a bit at the last sentence and frowned at Ren, who in turn glared back, probably a little bit taken aback at her suggestion, true or not…

"I'm fine Jun-sama! I'm really enjoying myself!" She replied as heartily as she could, feeling her stomach disagree with her forced mirth. Jun arched a brow momentarily, before her features resumed smiling and she set the tray down on the table, bidding them farewell and heading back the way she came.

Ren and Pirika remained quiet, neither moving nor making a slight sound. But then Pirika, who was restraining her bubbling urge to strike the purple haired shaman walked towards the table, grasping the handle of her cup and picking it up.

Perhaps if her eyebrow was not twitching from her restricted fury and maybe if her hand wasn't trembling from the same thing, she could have focused ultimately on what she was doing.

Ren blinked when he heard a sudden short squeal which sounded feminine, most likely derived from the Ainu. As it sounded somewhat pained, he swiftly reached his feet and looked behind him, to see a mug on the floor, spilling its contents. He would have to berate her for staining his carpet later though, as she was clutching her reddened hand, tears pricking in the corner of her eyes.

"Hey," he muttered, placing a hand on her shoulder. She sniffled and glanced over her shoulder to face him, obviously too hurt to fume at him. He rolled his eyes but then smirked in a much kinder way, stooping down to pick up the mug carefully, which was still steaming hot. "Don't worry too much-some sort of servant, or perhaps Jun can clean that up. How about we sort that hand of yours out?"

Another sniffle and then a nod.

He led her out of the room, hand still plastered on her shoulder, while a grinning Pailong observed them from the open doorway, amusement etched into his expression.

Though the tea had failed to warm her up in a comfortable fashion in a cold time like this, maybe Ren would be able to.

**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - **

"We're lost you moron! Gah, what kinda baka comedian are you!" Kyoko, obviously irritated hollered. Chocolove gawked at him in a surprised manner, before his brows knitted together and he crossed his arms.

"Say what? Aren't you the one who wouldn't give me the map AND the one who ripped it to pieces?"

"I told you that thing was bogus! We weren't getting anywhere!"

"That's 'cause you can't read maps, but you won't admit it. Why do you call it 'thing' anyway?"

"Shut your trap."

"Which one? The one underground, one in the sky…Hey!"

Chocolove hurried up to catch up with an agitated Kyoko who had stormed off ahead, mumbling something incoherent. Chocolove huffed and pouted, but Kyoko took no notice and actually quickened his pace, surveying the surrounding area with intent eyes. "Why did you try and ditch me?" Chocolove finally questioned out of the gloom, scratching the top of his head. The African American sweatdropped when he was glowered at, but Kyoko paused anyhow.

"Baka. You were starting another pointless joke. I was getting a headache anyways…"

"Or was that from all of YOUR shouting?"

"BAKA!" Kyoko roared, whacking Chocolove over the head, "THERE YOU GO AGAIN WITH THE JOKES!"

"That wasn't a joke!"

Kyoko sped off, leaving Chocolove in the dust, rubbing his head. He scowled at the space in front of him, before crying out Kyoko's name and following him like a lost lamb. When the two were reunited, despite Kyoko's short depression at this, Chocolove stopped dead rather suddenly. This caused Kyoko to halt and gape at him, before following his gaze…

WHAM

All he saw was some sort of bouncing pink thing before something crashed into him, knocking him to the ground. Chocolove watched the unfolding scene, brows drawing together in confusion, before his eyes widened as familiarity sparked somewhere in his mind.

"Tamao!" He exclaimed in surprise, as the groggy bubble gum haired girl attempted to reach her feet. When she fell back down again and landed on Kyoko, making him let out a groan somewhere between pain and annoyance, he roughly pushed her off, sitting back up. She blinked and glanced sideways to meet black eyes narrowed at her.

"Ah! Gomen!" She cried out, instantly finding her feet, "I didn't mean to do that! Gomen na sai, gomen na…Chocolove-san?"

"Ah, so you remember me like I remembered you Tamao-chan." The comedian beamed. Kyoko grunted, catching the two's attention. He came to his feet easily enough but resumed glaring angrily at Tamao, who seemed to shrink. "Ah, don't worry 'bout Kyoko here," Chocolove stated reassuringly, stepping in front of the two, "he's just a bit uptight."

"And a bit dirty from being knocked from my feet." He uttered, turning on his heel and marching off. Tamao cast her gaze to the ground, but an unfazed Chocolove simply grinned, patting her on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, he'll come back after he cools down."

And surely enough, he did return, averting Tamao's gaze and staring hard at Chocolove.

"I presume you know her." He stated sourly.

"Her name is Tamao. And yeah, I know her. C'mon Kyoko, y'know she didn't mean it."

"Phh. Whatever." He grumbled, giving her a half lidded scan. She blushed and averted his gaze, but couldn't when he seemed to materialise in front of her, eyes glazed with some emotion, that she determined as…

"So Tamao, what brings you here?" Cut in an oblivious Chocolove, rubbing his nose as he gazed around the area. Tamao smiled timidly.

"I'm getting medicine for Kino-sama. You're outside the Izumo compound."

Kyoko paled at the name 'Kino.'

**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - **

"Well, that didn't take too long, did it?" HoroHoro said heartily, as an exhausted Manta deposited the numerous white carrier bags into the kitchen. When the short human returned, he gave the angriest glare he could muster, but his happiness undeterred, the boy flitted around the onsen, licking his lips when his eyes came to rest upon the relatively large fridge.

Manta cheered up when a sleepy Yoh poked his head through the door to the lounge, eyes in the form of slits.

"Yoh-kun, you look like you've just woken up." Manta chuckled lightly, making the dazed Asakura grin at him.

"Yeah, as a matter of fact I have."

"Oh, well I'm surprised Anna let you go to sleep."

"Well…"

"Where is she anyway?" Manta asked, pursing his lips, "I'd have thought she would have been around checking about the groceries."

"You got them?"

"Yeah, I got them." A voice explained. The drowsy brunette turned his attention to the Ainu leaning against the doorframe, food in hand, food in his mouth, while Manta fumed about HoroHoro's comment, but went unnoticed. "Hey, isn't Anna around?"

"She's asleep." Yoh yawned scratching the back of his head. The other two face vaulted, wondering if they had heard right.

"Anna? Kyouyama Anna? Asleep?" HoroHoro blurted aloud, "But…That's…that's illogical…I mean…why would…"

"It was cold and it must have affected her. I fell asleep too."

"Where is she?"

"Lounge in a massive blanket."

"Oh eh…where did you hit the hay?"

"Lounge in a massive blanket."

HoroHoro blinked in surprise, but before he could remark, he heard tapping from a short distance away. Yoh, Manta and HoroHoro turned their heads to see a sleepy looking blonde standing idly by the entrance to the lounge, hair tousled and her foot tapping.

"Have you got the groceries?" She questioned, rubbing her eyes. HoroHoro stood there, the whole concept of a messy look Anna standing a few metres away, but when she began to glare he forced himself to think.

"Uh hai…," the Ainu laughed, still in doubt, "and I got a shock as well."

**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -**

"What the hell is that?" Ryoi asked Hao, blinking up at the thing before him. Hao grinned at him.

"It's the ice monster."

"Oh…"

And there it stood, in all its tall, frightening glory. It wasn't enormous, but it certainly wasn't small…

It had glowing yellow eyes and bared transparent fangs, flexed see-through claws made of…ice?

"Are you ready to fight that thing, Ryoi?"

"Uh…well…I've just sorta become a shaman and…"

"Ryoi-kun is a coward Hao-sama."

"I ain't a coward! I'm a symbol of manliness!"

"That's why you're quivering…"

"It's bloody cold!"

"Tch. Excuses excuses…"

"Huh? Oh and I suppose you're more manly than me, ay long hair?"

"You just…insulted my hairstyle…Well; I don't see women swooning at your feet whenever you flip your hair."

"That…"

"Not that you have much…spikes."

"Now wait just a…"

He was cut off from his rant when a deafening roar sounded, causing the three to instinctively clasp their hands over their ears. The two males sweatdropped and glanced up at the recently forgotten monster, who didn't seem to be too happy it was being deprived of attention. Opacho smiled sweetly at Hao, signifying she assumed he could win easily and hopped off to watch the fight upon a ledge, a nice, safe ledge, far, far away from the fight…

Hao furrowed his brows, before the giant fire mech appeared behind him in a swirl of fire. Ryoi brooded, still peeved at the earlier conversation, but opted to put aside his irritation for the sake of beating the ice thing. Why things had to be relatively big and not average sized lately was a real bother…

"Are you happy I dragged you along for this torturous adventure?" Hao asked in a jubious tone, giving him a lopsided grin.

Ryoi pouted and stared at him, before scowling at the ice monster before him, raising his own weapon and hoping to vent his frustration on the thing itself. Hao's comment did not go without a reply though…

"Bastard."

**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - **

The blonde cocked a confused brow at the other blonde, who beamed at her, hands thrust deeply into his pockets. She gave him a sturdy frown, before stepping to the side and allowing him to clamber in. He was very anxious and it could easily be seen by his unsure movement and his light blue eyes that continuously darted around. As he made his way through the hallway, Anna studied him.

He was quite a bit older than her, around his very early twenties or so. He had this…unique air about him, somewhere between tainted and innocence that felt so very odd. He didn't seem clumsy, but she noted he was always and had always been a very nervous person by searching through his aura closely; an ability she had picked up from Kino.

His eyes showed some understanding; a sort of…premature wisdom if you really wanted to acknowledge it as that. His blonde hair was a shade lighter than her own; the same colour as one of her acquaintances and rather large bangs flopped freely over his face. Whether it was brushed or not, which it most likely was, it would look almost…carefree.

"Um, I'm sorry to intrude, but…" he began, nervousness creeping up in his tone. At this particular moment, she really couldn't care; Anna rolled her eyes and airily walked past the lad, leaving him befuddled. His puzzlement increased when he sighted her with folded arms at another doorway, casting him a weary half lidded stare. He gulped when she approached him in a flustered state, her eyes boring into his.

"Well come on then," she retorted icily, turning on her heel, "If you want to discuss something, follow me."

He obliged, treading cautiously so he did not anger her any further.

She led him into some sort of comfort room, where a brunette lay asleep on the floor, snoring peacefully. He blinked in confusion, while Anna smacked her hand against her face, feeling anger well up from within her. How humiliating he was…

"Uh…"

"Wait a second."

His eyes followed her as she stormed over to the boy, silently praying that he would wake…safely.

Praying never did work in his opinion.

…

He rubbed his eyes lazily, too tired yet to comprehend the pain from the throbbing lump inflicted upon him by his fiancé. Anna shook her head at Yoh, before plonking herself on a chair the blonde male had brought into the room to sit on. He scratched his cheek and decided it would be best to remain standing. Yoh's eyes suddenly snapped fully open, and the pain came…

After he yelled at bit, stroking the 'wound' Anna rolled her eyes yet again and surveyed the male with curiosity, which she did not attempt to disclose to the other occupants of the room. "C'mon then, talk. Why are you here?"

Yoh finally stopped howling in agony to blink at the strange man, only now realising his presence. Anna picked up on this and suppressed the urge to wallop him over the head.

"I've come to see Asakura Yoh and Kyouyama Anna about something, but I don't know where they live. Could you direct me?"

The two teens blinked, exchanging perplexed glances. Yoh displayed his surprise more than Anna, but waved at the man smiling.

"I'm Yoh," he greeted and then motioned to the blonde, "this is Anna."

She gave a curt nod.

The male chuckled somewhat, red tinting his cheeks, before a more serious expression took hold.

"Well, first off, I am…"

**Tsuzuku**

**A/N: Le cliff hanger X D Anyways, my friend said fiction press was working for him, but it still isn't working for me, so I'm stuck writing this for a while O.o anyways, if you liked please review : ) And thanks for the reviews so far. And now, because you're probably bored reading a sucky author's note, I'm going to bombard you with even suckier questions X D **

**Who is the mysterious male? **

**Will Hao and Ryoi beat the ice thing? (Yeah, probably will) **

**And…**

**I dunno O.o **

**See ya next chapter! **


	3. 2: Another Mission? Snowbound

**Shaman King**

**When An Angel Cries**

**Rating: T**

**Genre: Fantasy/ Action Adventure**

**Side Genres: Romance/ Supernatural**

**Pairings: HaoAnna YohAnna LysergJeanne RenPirika HoroHoroTamao FaustVIIIEliza And Some Others…**

**Note: This takes characters from: Following My Heart**

**I have some light Lyserg and Jeanne in this chapter for some reason O.o and some more Anna and Yoh and Ren and Pirika. Hao and Anna moments will come eventually, but he's off fighting an ice thingy X D **

**Chapter Two: Another Mission? Snowbound **

"Well, first off, I am…"

"You are..?"

"Johann jr Faust IX."

Yoh and Anna's eyes widened swiftly. Had they just heard right?

Anna's forehead creased in frustration, as she looked him over, before cupping her hands together and turning her attention to the floor.

"So, I'm presuming you're related to Faust VIII…"

At the mention of the doctor, the young man's features brightened, causing Yoh and Anna to exchange glances yet again.

"Hai, hai…he is my father."

**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - **

"Uh…I'm taking it that you don't like the name Kino or something, because you look kinda…pale." Chocolove observed, stroking his chin in confusion. Kyoko had quite respectively blanked out and now Tamao was fussing over him, trying to drag him back to reality. It wasn't working, but at least it was keeping her busy. As she tended to him, Chocolove became withdrawn into thought.

He'd met Kyoko during one of his acts. Despite the boy throwing rotten produce at him, he could feel he had a gruff, yet good heart. The two had quickly bonded-or in Kyoko's words Chocolove had stalked him and pestered him until he had to give in and let Chocolove join him. They hadn't travelled very far and they had been drawn to Yoh's grandparents' house. Coincidence? Or perhaps that pesky fate?

"Don't…even ask." The raven haired boy grumbled, flipping his hair and pushing past the pink haired girl, who blinked and stared uneasily. Chocolove cocked a brow in suspicion, but quickly opted to forget it and grinning patted Kyoko on the back, who was frowning off into space.

"Why not pay a visit?" He suggested, said suggestion making Kyoko flinch. He glanced at Tamao, who seemed to be recalling her objective. "Aren't you gonna get medicine for Kino or something?"

Tamao's eyes widened and with a small 'eep' she had darted off, south bound, most likely in search of the elusive medicine. Kyoko shook his head disdainfully, but was rooted to the spot by his own fear, which he mentally berated himself for. Well, he had a right to be scared, after all…

"Can we go now and leave that ditzy bubblegum girl?" He queried, narrowing his eyes and transfixing his gaze upon the ground. Chocolove gave him a startled and puzzled gawk, before he brooded quite angrily.

"We can't just leave Tamao. Dunno why you're being so sour Kyoko, but she's doing her best, whether you're impressed with her or not." He presumed he was being ignored and sighed, bluntly, in resignation. Kyoko 'humphed' and walked forward a bit, before stopping.

"I'm 'sour' because you're gonna go make us tend to that old hag. I can just see it…"

As realisation crossed Chocolove's face, Kyoko wondered if he should have spoken his thoughts or just kept his trap shut.

"What a…great idea!"

Damnit…

**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - **

"Why does it have to be made of ice?" Ryoi exclaimed angrily as he parried a large, icicle constructed balled fist that came crashing towards him. It didn't really help as the force sent him flying a grand distance away, connecting rather painfully to the snow blanketed ledge that Opacho viewed the fight from. A vein pulsated from out of the unmoving boy's head as he heard her giggling away like there was no tomorrow.

"Ryoi-kun isn't any good. Why would Hao-sama want you around? Hmm…probably because Hao-sama is the nicest Hao-sama around! You're lucky Ryoi-kun…," Hao cast Opacho a cheery grin, "GO HAO-SAMA!"

"Tch," Ryoi muttered, obviously peeved, "aren't you supportive for both ends of the straw…"

"Huh?"

"Yeah, I come out with something deep and meaningful, but you don't get it…ah, whatever. I'm not gonna let Asakura Hao get the better of me!"

"Considering I've just knocked the ice thing down, I already have."

"Wha?"

As if he had never been knocked down and slammed into a hard bit of rock covered by snow, Ryoi hopped to his feet, eyes wide at the sight in front of him. Sure enough, the creature put together of ice was down and out, seemingly groaning as its body shifted. It was attempting to reach its feet, but failing from its size. It was sort of making a very big, dysfunctional looking snow angel, mind you…

"I think it'll get up soon, so I might as well destroy it now," Hao announced, well aware of Ryoi gritting his teeth, "you just _relax _and watch."

Ryoi didn't like the way how spoke in that; velvety, superior voice. He preferred the casual and cheery sounding one that didn't make him feel as if Hao was rubbing it in.

"I wasn't the one who knocked it down because I was talking to your baka of a follower over there!"

"Hao-sama, he called me a baka! I…I'm not a baka, am I?" A watery eyed Opacho cried. Ryoi resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"Iie, iie!" Hao reassured, all the while scowling somewhat in Ryoi's direction, "Ryoi-kun is a baka."

"Say what? I'll have you know I have a C+ average!"

"And I have the limitless knowledge of a thousand years. Comparison? You do the math…"

"Uh…well, I never really grasped the concept of numbers…n…not that I don't progress well in it! I just don't…uh…"

"Hao-sama, its back up…"

"Oh…that doesn't bode well…Ryoi; we'll continue this overly pointless discussion when we aren't on a world mission. I believe you may be of use to me during this battle. How about…the hapless n' happy sidekick?"

Ryoi readied his weapon which was enveloped by a fiery white, which blazed in his own dark brown eyes.

"Tch."

**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -**

"Jeanne-sama, where are we going exactly?" Lyserg enquired, scanning the area around him.

"I am being called to the north, for I sense a disturbance."

"Has it anything to do with this horrid weather?"

"…Perhaps."

"I see…"

"…"

"Jeanne…-sama?"

"Hai..?"

"You know if you get cold…"

"Uh…"

"Y'know I never go away and…"

"Lyserg..?"

"I suppose I could keep you war-."

"Jeanne-sama!" A voice intervened in an urgent manner, making the two teenagers whip their heads around, "did you feel that?"

"Feel what?" Lyserg stated blankly, concerned at the fact Jeanne had just blanked out. He waved his hand in front of the impassive girl, feeling the confusion was fully displayed upon his face now. Marco scowled at him and roughly pushed him away, paying no heed to the fact this caused Lyserg discomfort and the green eyed dowser fell to the floor, landing with quite a powerful sounding thud.

"Jeanne-sama?" The older blonde said slowly, brows knitting together in frustration.

Jeanne's lids drooped, and eventually shut completely.

"What the hell is going on?" The English man bellowed, being discreet in his lack of patience. Marco, if not for his worry of the girl, would have delivered him a strong hit right then and there.

"She is thinking," he explained in a grumpy tone, choosing not to acknowledge the fact that Lyserg just grimaced at him as if he knew more things and they were of a bad kind, "she will return to normal eventually."

"I doubt this kind of thing is a normal occurrence," he responded icily, causing even the steely Marco to flinch, "why is it affecting her now?"

Hardened grass coloured eyes darted towards the taller man as he shifted uneasily, his grey **(1) **eyes drifting.

"Well actually, this is rather common…"

**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - **

"Faust never mentioned having a son." Yoh said aloud, blinking confusedly. Anna proceeded to quickly wallop him over the head in the exact same place, and he was rewarded by the pain doubling from last time. "Itaii! That hurt! Why did you hit me?"

"Baka," Anna hissed in his ear, causing him to stiffen, "take a look and stop rambling."

Yoh obeyed and winced somewhat at the blank expression situated upon Johann Jr's face. The blonde shook his head, trying to cover up his cringe, but it was seen easily by the other two.

"He never mentioned me..? Ah ok…uh don't worry Yoh-sama, I am fine…"

They could sense denial ringing in his tone.

Anna mentally sighed, but best decided it would be better not to allow things to linger and he to have time to think and plummet into a masked depression, no matter how uncaring it may have come out; she had the best intentions at heart.

"Moving on, what are you here to talk about?"

Her fiancé gave her the most incredulous look he had ever given any being, but he was forced to look away when she glowered daggers at him. Johann Jr blinked and tried to process the request, his train of thought having been abruptly halted by Anna's strict voice. When he regained composure, he smiled politely at them, rubbing the back of his head.

"Well…I'm not sure if you will be angry or not…"

"Then try us, Johann Jr. You'll see once you speak. As you may come to see, we can be very…optimistic."

"Hmm…Anna-san, do you think Johann Jr is a mouthful?"

"Well, not really. Are you suggesting we call you something less formal?"

"Well…perhaps."

"What then?"

"Something along the lines of… JJ."

"JJ?" Anna repeated in a questioning, unbelievable tone, "surely you're kidding us."

She tried not to facevault when he calmly shook his head, smiling somewhat at her dramatizes towards his selected nickname. "Um…I don't think I'll be able to call you by such a name…"

"Why?" The brunette queried, grinning lazily when she frowned darkly at him.

"It's just…my mind and stomach don't quite agree with it."

"You're stomach too? Are you sure you're just not hungry?"

"You just made dinner…but maybe it's not agreeing with your bad cooking…"

"But Anna! You said it was respectable!"

"…Where did you get the idea itako's can't lie?"

"Um…"

"Oh, gomen…JJ-sama, I was just talking to my baka of a fiancé. What is it that you want us to do?"

Anna cocked a brow in a perplexed manner when he let out a hearty laugh, followed up by a warm smile. "Do you find something funny?"

"Just that your and Yoh's relationship is a tender and unique as she said."

A very flushed itako stepped back, facing JJ with through seething teeth.

"Let's just get on with your request, enough procrastinating!"

**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -**

"Ok, Hao," Ryoi muttered angrily, being gifted a puzzled and innocent look from the flame shaman; "we'll only aid each other if it's a matter of life and death!"

The long haired brunette sighed exasperatedly and rolled his eyes, forming the same flame blade he had wielded against his twin.

"Gosh, and I assumed you couldn't get any more stubborn."

Before Ryoi could counter with a witty remark-_or rather _as close to a witty remark he could come with, the beast charged towards them at quite a nimble pace. The transparent figure of a light brown furred, sleek appearing wolf materialised at Ryoi's side, orange eyes speculating. Ryoi, noting the presence of his guardian spirit for the first time nodded, implying for Ritsuuen to continue thinking. He watched as the beast went for Hao immediately, as if drawn in by the flickering flames that played wildly in his hands.

The flames burning incredibly brightly in his hand diminished as he gave a pleased smirk at having gotten the beast to assault him first. His smirk was tinted with cockiness however and this was directed at a standing still Ryoi by the slight turn of his head. He couldn't see Hao's brown eyes, but he knew they were lit up with hushed superiorness. Ryoi felt anger well up from inside of him. It was as if someone had intentionally stolen Hao's flame and transferred into Ryoi's inner depths. The boy's eyes were blazing with the sense of rivalry and, not to be outdone by the thousand year old shaman that dodged the beast's attacks like he was merely rolling about, slumbering in bed, tucked under a comfortable, inviting blanket, with the utmost ease.

Ritsuuen must have felt his master's distress and before allowing it to get out of hand at a critical time, his see through figure vanished and the white from earlier enveloped the curve edged blade. The blade itself was a very dark emerald colour, with slight traces of a crimson colour. It had been his father's, who was currently aiding in a war, on the hidden islands. His mother had grown sick awaiting his return, and Ryoi, not wanting to face the pressure of caring for everything had ran away, leaving an ill stricken mother and innocent baby sister who would be burdened and deprived of most of her childhood. At least, unless his mother mentioned it to her, she would not know who had left her this…

Perhaps, if he gained some dignity from this, he'd be able to repent just a little bit more…

Though his decisions were easily swayed, Ryoi was headstrong and was going to do everything in his power to make sure he **beat** Hao in beating the monster. From within the blade his father had lovingly named 'Harsen' and passed down to Ryoi, a sigh sounded, though the shaman was too caught up in current events to hear it. It was from Ritsuuen no doubt, who was being bothered by a bad feeling.

Being overdetermined was just as bad as being overconfident.

**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -**

"Now that things have been sorted…what on earth were you doing being so clumsy?" The Tao asked in an anger edged tone, while the blue haired Ainu who still sniffled frequently stared out into the dark blue sky. Now that the pain had died down a bit, she focused all her frustration at the boy standing behind her, his brow raised. She automatically clenched her fists and they trembled as she shook with anger. She hated the fact he put minimal effort into showing his kindness when he had it available to him. He would act much like a prince charming; handsome, kind and chivalrous one moment and the next be plain old uncaring, arrogant and demeaning Tao Ren. Yep, she practically hated him right now for giving her _that look_.

But at the same time, she couldn't help the fact that…

The intensity adorning his amber eyes made her heart flutter.

She bit down hard on her quivering lower lip, inwardly berating herself for even feeling such things…

She looked up, trying to give him a hard glare, but it soon became apparent he had seen her biting her lip…

And his amber eyes were shining with worry, open wider and focused on _her._

That feeling was in her chest again.

She tried to banish it; relieve herself of it, but in the end…

"Ok…look Pirika; I know I'm being a bit harsh…how about I go get you something to lift your spirits?"

His eyes were so comforting and caring; something she had sworn she hadn't witnessed before, but then again…

When had she ever stared into his eyes long enough not to whip her gaze away when the very same sensation started?

Maybe it was then, she fully realised as the shaman stood up, flashing her one of his rare, genuine smiles…

She came to terms with the fact she couldn't stop her heart from feeling this way.

**Tsuzuku**

**A/N: X D it's too fluffy at the ending, but the current genre is fantasy/romance, is it not? As for the 'JJ' bit, I detest calling him that, but couldn't think of much and frankly hate writing the same thing over and over. I can't seem to have one chapter where Hao and Ryoi aren't having at least one argument O.o but oh well… **

**I have a personal twist for one of the characters I happen to like very much, but you won't find out for quite a while what it is…**

**Jeanne bits confuzzling isn't it? **

**Well, maybe not, it just hasn't been explained yet.**

**Something to do with a made up childhood for a cannon character O.o**

**Don't worry though, because I highly doubt its going to be very angsty…**

**If you have any suggestions for other nicknames for Johann Jr Faust IX than 'JJ' could you let me know somehow? That would be helpful **

**Anyways, see ya next chapter**


	4. 3: One Weather Problem Solved? Verses

**Shaman King**

**When An Angel Cries**

**Rating: T**

**Genre: Fantasy/ Action Adventure**

**Side Genres: Romance/ Supernatural**

**Pairings: HaoAnna YohAnna LysergJeanne RenPirika HoroHoroTamao FaustVIIIEliza and Some Others…**

**Note: This takes characters from: Following My Heart**

**Thanks for all the reviews so far : ) Though I've been busy with other writing projects. It's a short chapter because I'm sick and the next one is 3000 words + **

**Chapter Three: One Weather Problem Solved? Verses…**

"It's awfully cold, isn't it?" The blonde mused thoughtfully, his grip tightening on his woolly coat as a sharp gust swept past. The other blonde of the trio arched a brow at him, cocking her head to the side in a rather amused manner.

"Well, why would it not be considering the weather JJ."

"Yup, she's right and all." A spiky haired brunette agreed, grinning lazily at the blonde matching his pace, who frowned off into the distance in return.

"Y'know…JJ is rather…unusual for someone of my profession to be called."

"You're a necromancer, right?"

"Um…Iie, I'm a skateboarder…"

The two teenagers halted in their tracks, meeting his half entertained sparkling blue orbs with puzzled looks.

"A…skateboarder?" Anna drawled through half lidded eyes, sweatdropping.

He scratched the back of his head meekly, earning a hearty laugh from Yoh, which was cut off when Anna glowered at him. "Look, JJ, its cold, I'm cold, so we're moving, got it?"

"Yes mam." The two males chorused, sweating profusely.

**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - **

"Do I want to know where Anna and Yoh have gone off to? I mean, first off they're sleeping under the same blanket…arigatou to kami nothing drastic things had not occurred, but what now! What will we…?"

"Manta, take a chill pill and stop pacing, would ya? Surely that carpet cannot endure the extremities of your constant babble worry and all." HoroHoro grumbled, scratching his cheek as he tried to recollect his memory in the whereabouts of his younger sister's prized possession.

"Um…what are we looking for?"

"Gah! You're worrying sure does screw around with your memory…I told you about two minutes ago…"

"Well…?"

"We're trying to find the azure charm; S'an heirloom or something to our entire clan. Its came with a prophecy as well, y'know; all that 'woooooooooo' stuff and all. But Pirika, bein' the girly girl she is fell in love with all the glitter and junk and asked for me to take care of it while she was in China."

"W…what prophecy??? Is it g-good or ba…?"

"You're worked up again ALREADY?"

"I…"

"Its all eerie and spooky."

"W-what's it about?"

"Phh, s'about…the…hmm…oh yeah! S'bout the oni that comes and collects the souls of small, smart, worry filled teenagers who ain't shaman, who carry around a dictionary and has a tie…"

HoroHoro cut the tension by bellowing with laughter, patting the paled and shaking Manta on the back reassuringly.

"I was only teasing."

"Picking on me again…"

"Basically, it went something along the lines of;

_Call the ice closure_

_Yet be wary of flickering sparks_

_For those and others requiem would meet _

_Conflict would be sated._

Bunch of crap, ain't it?"

"Y-yeah…"

"Meh, don't worry your little concerned self Manta. Just help me find the damn trinket…"

**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -**

Flicking strands of dark sea blue from his face only to have them fall back into position, a very bored Ryoi sighed distraughtly to himself, whilst many a girl swooned as the elder Asakura twin flipped his dark hair, flashing them a charming smile. Opacho giggled at Ryoi and said shaman brooded, cracking his knuckles and alerting the huddled people in the small village in he was agitated.

Not that paid them much heed, and coincidently most of the occupants of the inn were females…females sighing and gossiping with high pitched giggles gathered around the shaman who had 'saved' them with his side kick…

The lone guy flicking strands of hair from his face on some random table, frowning to nothing. Very appealing to woman, ne?

What had happened was simple; Ryoi had had a clump of earthed ice lobbed at him, but Hao had quickly stepped in and melted it. But it was going to hit Hao, so Ryoi returned the favour and countered with the splinter thrust. Not that it mattered though, as a large fist that pounded into his abdomen sent him flying god knows where into yet another cliff wall…and yeah, he was out cold, quite literally…

He listened to the detailed and _slightly _exaggerated optimistic Hao's account of what happened half heartedly, sipping the steaming brew silently. His face screwed up in disdain and pushed the mug aside, trying to stop himself from retching and _increasing _his appeal to these women currently engrossed in gazed dreamily at the flame shaman. How the hell did the guy drink this stuff anyway? It smelt like rotten milk mixed with some sort of mouldy cheese and tasted yet the more vulgar than smelled. Perhaps Hao had been partnered with a jerk before and many a years ago had sat in the exact same place as Ryoi was moping; muttering and contemplating on how his baka partner could stand such a drink.

'_Maybe jerks just like it, 'cause it tastes like scum.' _He inwardly huffed, folding his arms and stubbornly closing his eyes.

He heard another few girly exchanges, Hao whispering into their ear and brushing strands of their hair like he always did which would in return send them reeling back, set into hysterics and flushed. Maybe he was just jealous of all the attention that Hao was nicking from him. Heck, if he hadn't intervened, Ryoi would be on the lips of those girls listening intently to every word or rather just…noting his features…

He sighed resignedly and opened his eyes only to be greeted by large round orbs, shimmering with open curiosity as the evening orange seeped in the windows; the powerful gusts making the wooden blinders clatter roughly and loudly. He jerked back; perhaps a tad too far as his chair leaned back and eventually toppled over. However, on a positive note, he did grab the attention of all the girls but maybe that was just because Hao had shot an alarmed glance at him.

"Ryoi? You ok?" He enquired, blinking as a beaming Opacho trotted back to him.

Ryoi stared up at the ceiling, eye lids drooped, sweatdropping and giving a strained grin, yet he made no attempt to move from his backside.

"Yeah. Dandy…"

**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - **

"I ain't helping anyone, so I suggest you release me before you find my threat about losing your limbs was no joke as you assumed." Kyoko stated menacingly, each word penetrating Chocolove's common sense and urging him to let the raven haired boy loose.

But the lack of common sense caused the comedian to give a grin and continue to drag Kyoko along the dirt path to the Izumo compound. "Chocolove, I ain't brazen to violence…well actually, I bloody well am when people piss me off, so leggo, now!" He spoke fiercer, but Chocolove either had infinite foolhardy courage or Kyoko's voice was drowned out by his abstractly out of tune humming.

"Chocolove-sama! Mister Kyoko-dono!"

The boy groaned and rolled his eyes.

Mister Kyoko-dono?

Hell was gonna freeze over…

"What?" The boy snapped before Chocolove could get a word in, making the girl who was panting somewhat twiddle her fingers and cast a shy gaze at the ground. Chocolove scowled at Kyoko, who scowled back harder, which made Chocolove lessen his grip and attend Tamao's side, sweatdropping.

"Tamao-chan, what's wrong? Ne, ya gotta tell us Tamao-chan, neko got your tongue?"

"Course not dumbass, otherwise she wouldn't have called out infuriatingly humiliating names…"

"Ano uh…Kino-sama suggested that we locate HoroHoro-sama and company."

"Did'ja give her the medicine?"

A nod. "Hai. She tried to cast it aside, but Yohmei-sama finally convinced her…"

Kyoko mentally celebrated in relief, now flashing Tamao a much kinder grin and materialising by her other side.

"Ya need to find him right? Let's go then!"

Before Tamao could speak, a hand grasped hers and hauled her away, leaving Chocolove in the dust, blinking. He eventually sighed, patting down his bushy hair even more messed with from the quick retreat.

"And just as I was about to crack a world famous joke…"

When he fully realised they were miles ahead of him by now, he darted forwards, searching frantically for them.

**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - **

"I know! Call me Junior!"

"Junior? I can why you chose that…are you sure? Because I won't be happy if you keep changing your names every five steps…as if the trek wasn't energy absorbing enough…you've already confused his laziness over there."

She inclined her head towards Yoh who was wading along, head bobbing up and down, eyes flicking open and shut. Anna, despite her reluctance to aid him supported him by having a steady grip on his arm, yet tried not to have any a reaction to it. JJ, or rather Junior blinked, brows raising.

"He's falling asleep…"

"Only HE has the ability to choose where he falls asleep…"

"Hmm…fascinating."

There was a glint in Junior's eyes, reflecting Faust and his dark arts love for the moment. Anna burrowed her brows, trudging on through the thick blanket of white, which was proving quite a nuisance to manoeuvre through.

"Are you sure you're a skateboarder?"

"Of course Anna-sama. As sure as I am the sky is now a vibrant blue…"

"…It's orange. Its evening."

"Uh…"

"Don't hide it. I can sense you have short term memory loss."

"You can sense…? How…fascinating…"

Again with the demeaning light in his cobalt eyes.

Anna titled her head back, her stoic expression being invaded by specks of white.

Perhaps this 'skateboarder' had inherited a few more quirks from father than any had first presumed…

**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - **

"Ne Morphine…," the silver haired maiden questioned, sadness glittering in her dark ruby eyes, "do you know why Lyserg-kun is avoiding me?" The little fairy like creature was saddened by the girl's depression and knew the cause, but could not display in words what was processing through Lyserg's mind. The boy felt overwhelmed by emotions; one being disappointment in being left out from hearing Jeanne's past. He assumed she didn't trust him enough, which was completely going the wrong way.

The fairy flittered around, gazing solemnly at the young lady who would not meet her eyes. Jeanne sighed and frowned, bringing her hand to her head before shaking it. "Is it me Morphine? Have I upset…?"

She was promptly cut off as the fairy shook her head vigorously.

Jeanne smiled back, but the doubt still remained, tinted her smile.

"I remember…I was just a normal girl who lived in a tropical village. That was until about the age of seven, when the X-Laws kidnapped me…" Morphine's eyes widened in immediate surprise, shock so home on her face it was as if it was carved. "Yeah…they said something about some ruby necklace pointing me out to be the iron maiden…they said Hao had killed my parents or something…course it was a lie, but I didn't know that and filled with thoughts of revenge I became the iron maiden…Turns out my parents were stuck on a cruise ship; of free purchase from X-Laws Adequate…Sounds funny, ne? I always found Lyserg-kun interesting because he had lost his parents too, but…he actually lost his…"

She sighed, easing the building stress by massaging her temples.

Morphine landed on her shoulder, whispering comfortingly into her ear.

The girl smiled back with a more serene nature, before fingering the set of glistening rubies that caught and intertwined with the orange rays. It shone crimson, almost blinding them. Though the necklace made them feel warmer and heated the fairy settled on her shoulder.

"Y'know Morphine, this came with some strange verse. It was whispered to me from the wind…I only heard it once and it was so low, but I know it off by heart…wanna here it?"

Morphine nodded happily, smiling at Jeanne.

"Hmm ok.

_Sparks set alight the future_

_Yet recoil from ice's impassive clutch_

_For those and others requiem would meet_

_The conflict would be sated._

Kinda mysterious, don't'cha think?"

So they remained chatting; or rather Jeanne talking and Morphine making sounds rigged with emotion. Eventually, the fairy drifted off to slumber on her shoulder, opting to remain with Jeanne until Lyserg settled.

The silvery haired maiden sent her a droopy smile, lack of sleep tugging on her and studied the necklace again, fingers absently running over them, before she succumbed to her sleep.

The red rubies flickered crimson.

'_**Call the ice closure.'**_

'_**Sparks set alight the future.' **_

**Tsuzuku**

**A/N: Weird ending O.o Anyway, I've been drifting so I haven't updated in a bit and my left arms killing me, literally. This chapter was short but the next one is over three thousand words and stuff, so yeah…**

**Anyways, thanks for your reviews and all :Gives you chocolate chip cookies: **

**The idea of the name Junior came from KagomeAnna, so arigatou : ) **

**Anyways, please R+R again and I'll see you on the next chapter. **

**Preview For Chapter IV **

"Damnit! It's not meant to be alive! The weather isn't meant to be changing so badly!"

She tapped her cane upon the marble floor impatiently, serious eyes wavering behind her glasses.

"Bring Asitoth out NOW."

He panicked, but was sent sprawling across the ground when the nimble and broad legged creature lunged at him. He could feel his heart quicken, and a flurry of different limbs tried to cling to the blanketed ground, but upon contact his hand slipped and both man and beast plummeted.

**End Preview**


	5. 4: Wasn't That? Asitoh?

**Shaman King**

**When An Angel Cries**

**Rating: T**

**Genre: Fantasy/ Action Adventure**

**Side Genres: Romance/ Supernatural**

**Pairings: HaoAnna YohAnna LysergJeanne RenPirika HoroHoroTamao FaustVIIIEliza and Some Others…**

**Note: This takes characters from: Following My Heart**

**Thanks for all the reviews so far : )**

**Chapter Four: Wasn't That…? Asitoth?**

He wasn't quite sure why when he woke to the piercing morning rays while he was asleep on the uncomfortable wooden floor. Luckily, there was no one there to jeer at him so he sat up straight and cast a groggy glance around the quaint abode. And then…

SLAM

He blinked, wakening up to the odd noise of something slamming against something else. Before he and his half awake brain which was protesting at the abruptness of being woken up had any time to ponder, there it was again; this time much louder.

SLAM

Then the exhausted shaman willed himself to stand, outstretching his limbs as his prolonged and weary yawn sounded. He scratched his cheek thoughtfully, before there was yet another slam; right on the wall of the inn he was currently standing in.

So bad was this attack, that one side of the house; the strongest wall collapsed, hiding the glistening snow underneath the dense rubble.

Ryoi's eyes widened as Ritsuuen materialised by his side, as calm as ever, arching his brow in confusion.

"It appears we have company." He mused, glancing upwards; Ryoi following his gaze.

"Oh bloody hell…"

Sure enough, the creature HAO was supposed to have taken care of was quite satisfied in decimating the village; icicle made hands crashing onto houses, the impact devastating, transparent ice teeth attempting to scoop up and crunch the fleeing villagers. The horns jutting out down along his back were skimmed with crimson, arguably blood.

On the other hand, Hao would get blamed and the ladies would come a runnin' back to him and he'd be like 'Noooo way!'

But of course, cockiness aside, he had to save the ungrateful people first and then see their priceless faces…oh but wait, he was one of the heroic types that never get revenge on something so primitive but then again, since when had he signed a contract agreeing to that?

The beast seemed more focused on destroying this time, obviously displeased from the earlier events, but halted and sniffed the air. The wolf and shaman blinked up, exchanging glances, but stiffened when steely eyes came to rest on them.

"Um…Ryoi-dono..?"

"Bugger…"

**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -**

"Hey Manta, you found it yet?"

"It is…see-through?"

"Huh? Lemme see…"

The male Ainu clambered towards him over the mountain of piled objects they had discarded upon seeking out the Ainu heirloom. They had turned the Asakura household into a dump and hopefully Anna would not pop in to retrieve something. Of course, she'd probably never find it in this hell…

Whilst HoroHoro braved the mess they had made and the one they were sure gonna clean up, Manta's eyes searched the palm fitting object in his hand. It was glittering and leaving a collection of shining and misty blue orbs on the ground, which fizzled out after a number of moments. The thing that would probably be confirmed as the azure charm was haphazardly cold, which was why a gloved hand was still shaking slightly from laying it out on his hand.

Suddenly, a pale and ungloved hand snatched it from him and instinctively he looked up to see HoroHoro beaming at him, chucking the heirloom up and down; catching it again.

"Yup, this is the azure charm. Good work Manta, how 'bout we get something to eat now?"

Thinking HoroHoro was both forgetful and a baka, Manta pointed out the mess, which was trapping them to the spot anyway.

"What about..?"

"Don't worry. We'll come later. Yoh gave me a spare key after all and I doubt they'll be back. They've gone on a cool adventure, I can just feel it!"

"B-but what if they've been kidnapped or something..? A robbery..?"

"It seems to slip your mind that a thief against the near shaman king with a powerful samurai spirit is rather…"

"I…it's so cold! W-what if it was someone like Hao?"

"(Cough) Anna is undoubtedly with Yoh…"

"B-but it's freezing outside! I can't become a snowman in summer!"

"Manta, take a chill…urh, actually, take a pill that doesn't have something reflecting cold in it. Now I've gotta go trek off to China, wanna come?"

"I have to ask…"

"I asked him before we came here. He said fine as long as you have a book or what not…"

"…"

"Alright? Yeah, let's go!"

"Um HoroHoro…?"

"Oh for the love of…what the heck is it now?"

"W-what's…that?"

**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -**

"Damnit! Its not meant to be alive! The weather isn't meant to change so badly!"

Hearing Hao's voice, the beast glanced over its shoulder to only be met by a surge of fire, sending it off balance and falling to the ground with and earth shaking thud. Hao greeted Ryoi and Ritsuuen urgently, the fire mech loitering amongst the shadows, yellow orbs transfixed upon the beast lying motionless on the snowed ground.

"Hao! What the hell is going on? Just…"

"I dunno! I beat it and chucked its remnants off the cliff and into the gorge! Surely the snow covered…"

"Of course!" Ritsuuen exclaimed, grabbing the conversing teen's attention, "its made of ice. Snow only heals it!"

If there was any confusion, the beast groaned and shifted, trying to find its feet. The snow beneath melted into frigid liquid, before being snapped up by seemingly nothing into the air. It formed an arm; a transparent one to replace the completely melted one, but soon it frosted back into ice; creating something which looked like an unsullied masterpiece.

With a shuddering roar it was up, glowering down at the two teens that backed off a bit.

Hao formed his flame sword, the essence of flames gently dancing along the blade. Though it was infused with the spirit of fire, the normally calm and cheery male had a bad inkling and observed cautiously as a golden orange orb entered the blade affectionately named Harsen.

Hao grimaced and lowered his flame sword.

Pointless…

Utterly pointless…

**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - **

"Please calm…"

"I said bring me to him!"

Yohmei sighed in resignation, clutching his head as his mind ploughed through what his wife uttered, though his mind classified it was gibberish. She had gone and whispered something to Tamao, sending the child on some quest or another and was now demanding to be taken to Hokkaido, where Yoh's Ainu friends descended from. He had taken her half way there, but was concerned she really was terribly sick and now was trying to convince her to return. He'd have to ask Tamao to go back and whoever else had been brought into the issue.

"But dear," Yohmei muttered sternly, "you're sick. We must return…"

"Iie, you MUST but I have more important matters to attend to, now if you won't help me move!"

"I'm not leaving you, but-."

"Him." She grumbled.

She tapped her cane upon the marble floor impatiently, serious eyes wavering behind her glasses.

"Bring Asitoth out NOW."

**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - **

"Yoh?"

"Nuh? Yeah Anna?"

"Get your drooling head OFF of my shoulder."

Flushed, the boy obliged, whipping his head off of his fiancés shoulder. Anna sighed in relief, extremely happy Yoh had decided to wake up, though her shoulder felt rather…wet. He was probably dreaming of his oranges, yep, oranges, and oranges…of course she wouldn't pry…

"What was I dreaming about again?"

"I don't know, tell me." Anna questioned automatically, hiding her cringe and berating herself. A thoughtful looked crossed the lads face as he came to a stand still, Anna watching him intently from the corner of her eye.

Junior stopped and cocked his head to the side, innocently watching from afar. He grinned and tended to buttoning up his jacket to gain more warmth as the temperature had decreased even more. Of course, stopping to watch something in a snowstorm was stupid, but he really didn't mind. Well, maybe his sore freezing limbs did, but his heart and mind, tucked within the warmth of his body sure didn't…

"I was uh dreaming about…oh yeah…" He laughed and scratched the back of his head meekly, blush deepening.

'_Gosh. I can't tell Anna I was dreaming about her!'_

"Yoh?"

"Um…there was a blonde…ORANGE!"

"A blonde…orange?"

"H-hai. And she…it I mean was saying she lo-erh liked me…"

"The blonde orange said it liked you?"

"Yeah…blonde orange and like…uh huh…"

"Yoh?"

"Um hai…?"

"Have you been eating junk food behind my back?"

**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - **

He blinked in puzzlement at his short human friend, before rolling his eyes at his trembling figure, suspecting he'd probably sighted a squirrel draped in white. Yeah, a squirrel ghost…

All the same, it was better to resolve the issue than leave Manta's fears unquenched. So he found himself walking around the house, searching for anything. Said search went interestingly, save for the fact that he couldn't even find the ghost squirrel. But a belligerent and terrified Manta could not be at piece until he checked the forest that lay south east of Yoh's home. There was a cliff there also, but to HoroHoro the little trip was the equivalent to a hard days hike…

Though Manta, from fear of being alone opted to accompany him and so they, now a joined duo made there way into the heart of the forest, overstepping large broken branches and shielding themselves from sharp hollies and thorns. When it was clear there was nothing within the white coated forest, HoroHoro suggested they go to the cliff to overlook the city.

So now they were gazing out from the cliff, overlooking the city and grinning while doing so. Manta had calmed down and it was peacefully quite, yet…

The consistent and quick paced sound of rustling altered that…

**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - **

"Hao! Go left!"

"Iie! You go left!"

"Gah! Right! Right!"

"So now you agree with me!"

"Iie! GO RIGHT!"

"Nani?"

"Oof!"

"What on…oh for the sake of…!"

Hao blocked the raging fist, the dancing fire on his blade melting the clenched fist, yet the process from earlier picked up again and soon he was dodging a flurry of limbs. Had it been any faster he would have been pounded into the snow.

Ryoi was not so lucky; directing Hao and marvelling on his cluelessness which he assumed the younger twin only had and got walloped yet again by the frozen menace. He wasn't knocked out; just incredibly lifeless upon the deterred ground.

"Baka." Opacho snorted playfully, her young mind not fully aware of the fact her Hao-sama was meeting problems. Sitting on the same ledge as before, she turned from Ryoi, her legs dangling, bare heels scraping the rocky snow covered rock. Eyes wide with cheer, she watched Hao's movement through the snow, anticipation flooding her young black eyes as if she were watching a dance; not shuffling about in survival.

"How the hell am I meant to beat it if it keeps reconstructing itself with more and more snow, making it bloody stronger?" The brunette roared in anger, his locks swishing from his agitated dodge. Opacho blinked, his merriment momentarily sidetracked, before the corners of his mouth tugged and eventually blossomed into a gigantic grin.

"That monster looks like a big transparent snowman! He crossed between Halloween and Christmas Hao-sama!"

The flame shaman stopped dead in his tracks, giving his small companion and incredulous glance asking 'why do you do this to me?'

Hao was met by a smile. Opacho clearly hadn't grasped the concept of keeping her mouth closed as so not to antagonise weird ice beasts that must have understood humans as it quite promptly swerved around, giant head connecting with Hao's torso, looking quite enraged, so much so it was a surprise it didn't melt…

**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - **

"So…why are we finding HoroHoro?" Chocolove queried, taking time to survey the area around him.

They were walking at a breath-of-fresh-air pace much to Chocolove's relief as he had easily caught up with them.

They were currently walking through a vastly wide field, its lush green leaves coated by unblemished white, which glittered under the fragile sun's orange rays. There was a lake situated in this field; most intentionally placed there for the purpose of not leaving the inhabitants thirsty, but none had come to view over the past hour or so. The sky itself was deprived of those white puffs that lolled about and it was coated in almost a slanderous orange yellow colour; seeming to lack any motivation to brighten people's spirits. It appeared exhausted; as if gathering all remaining energy just to cast a fading glow. A few birds were seen though; swooping down to and fro, twittering loudly and squawking irritably. At one point an agitated Kyoko had clasped his hands over his ears, pinching his eyes shut and complaining about the incessant noise. The simplest things seemed to distress the raven haired mystery, but they couldn't face a finger as to why it did. He muttered something of the birds mocking him; laughing in a jubious manner that constantly rang in his ears. Not that they understood exactly what he was getting at, but they merely nodded their heads absently, clinging onto every single word with curious ears, simply without their knowledge.

They tracked on, some of the ice beneath them reversing back to liquid which trickled to the mud. The earth squelched beneath their feet as they ploughed their way through; a timid predictor, a short fused unknown and a laughless comedian. Tamao inched her way through, which caused Kyoko behind her to grow anxious, while Chocolove was humming along as if he were under the blazing sun and feasting on delicacies such as ice cream. At the very thought of the produce given current occurrences, his stomach lurched and he had to place a hand upon it to have it settle. The boy huffed, his own thoughts drowning out extremely deafening humming and his lids grew heavy, to the state of instinctively closing.

'_I'm losing.' _

**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - **

In a matter of moments; a tangle of limbs and a surge of distraught, a male Ainu was laid down on his back, eyes wide, gaping at the silver fanged creature atop him, snarling ferociously, claws digging into his flesh. He let out an agonised yelp, but a petrified Manta sunk into the shadows, feeling any courage that might have been sweltering within his depths drown when the beast raised his claw.

It had a sleek body, designed to brave the harshness of lashing ice storms and freezing climates. It was a bit larger than HoroHoro, with hind legs and powerful, bone crunching jaws that lustfully wanted to prey upon the male beneath him. He thrust his paw down and slashed across the Ainu's chest, making his yell previous seem like nothing.

The bloodcurdling scream of pain did its job a little too well, stilling Manta's blood with expertise. He wanted so badly to aid his friend, yet he could only tremble and watch as HoroHoro was massacred as his own fear restrained him. He knew he would face overwhelming regret for keeping silence, but he could not move…

He would not.

Gritted teeth met gnarling fangs as he attempted to throw the beast off of him. Luckily, the beast was now eyeing Manta, losing the edge of its concentration. HoroHoro took this opportunity to fling his nails into the beast's eyes, sending it reeling back from shock and pain. Aware wasting time was too risky, HoroHoro rolled to the left and struggled to shaking feet, inhaling and exhaling ragged breaths, clutching his chest where crimson endlessly seeped out.

He stumbled in any direction; his mind unable to pin point where he was going from the lack of blood.

"HoroHoro-kun!" Came an estranged cry earning the owner a groggy and unaware glower; from the Ainu. His eyes widened when through his bleary vision he made out a large round head and short body, but before confirming who it was, he was surprised when a weight crashed onto him, accompanied by a stern and furious growl.

He panicked, but was sent sprawling across the ground when the nimble and broad legged creature lunged at him. He could feel his heart quicken, and a flurry of different limbs tried to cling to the blanketed ground, but upon contact his hand slipped and both man and beast plummeted.

**Tsuzuku**

**A/N: I must make better cliffies Is Horo-kun ok I wonder…actually, I have no idea myself, but something is forming in the dark recesses of my mind…::sweatdrop:: **

**Anyways, thanks for the reviews so far : ) And please do so again, 'cause like every author in their right mind would say, a review considerably brightens up their day and means faster updates are coming your way.' A cheesy line P But I thought of it in two seconds, so peace…**

**Anyway, see ya next chapter. **

**Preview For Chapter V: **

"Sneaking around like the sly one you are eh?"

"It's like an endless cycle. When one half of someone dies, the other side is dragged along with it."

He crept along the narrow, winding and blackened corridors, his hand guiding him as it slid over the nooks and crannies of the walls. He came to an abrupt stop when he was met by a pair of crimson orbs.

"Arigatou for that, but why the hell is it still snowing? Are there more?"

**End Preview For Chapter V**

**Don't miss it!**

**(X D it sounds like I'm advertising for some actual episode) **


	6. 5: Consequence, Trudging To Confusion

**Shaman King**

**When An Angel Cries**

**Rating: T**

**Genre: Fantasy/ Action Adventure**

**Side Genres: Romance/ Supernatural**

**Pairings: HaoAnna YohAnna LysergJeanne RenPirika HoroHoroTamao FaustVIIIEliza and Some Others…**

**Note: This takes characters from: Following My Heart**

**Thanks for all the reviews so far : )**

**Chapter Five: Consequence Of White; Trudging To More Confusion **

She was steadily growing impatient.

Not that she had the most patience in the world, but surely it was murder to be subjected to waiting like some insignificant creature with an illness. The elderly itako's brows furrowed as she snorted under her breath, turning a blind eye to the mutterings of her husband. She knew what was happening but was trying to recollect as to when Yohmei had come to any knowledge.

Asitoth was not meant to have done what he did, but being the worrying wonder he was and letting his fear partake in development, he had brewed up a bad mess. Messing with things of such high valour was plain ridiculous but to go tinkering with their spirits? She sighed dejectedly, too weary and energy depleted to rearrange the greyed strands coming loose from a tightly neat bun.

The Hokkaido leader was too optimistic and surly for the good of himself. He was infuriatingly pessimistic at times, but that was no excuse to tamper and construct THOSE things….

Yohmei winced when his wife's cane came thundering down on the ground, the echo ringing hollow. With brows arched of puzzlement and intrigue, Kino stared down, eyes flashing behind her glasses. Despite Yohmei's foggy memory, he recalled he was not supposed to let Kino know of the underground where a once profound leader reduced to a whimpering wreck hung in the shadows; awaiting to be grasped by them.

"Um dear…I think we should…"

"He's down there, isn't he? You're trying to deceive me."

The matter of fact tone, perceived as a simple statement rather than a dubious question stilled him to silence and suddenly very conscious of himself, he surveyed the area by his feet wryly, fingers threading together absently. Kino shook her head disapprovingly, hitching her glasses upon on her nose for her to place her blind eyes on Yohmei, the whiteness piercing his eyes.

"Don't lie to me. I can read your intentions easily enough. He's down there, running about in the dirt; hiding from the consequence of his actions."

"But dear! I tried to convince him otherwise, yet he looked so helpless! I could not refrain from aiding him!"

"So you played a hand in creating _them _did you? Tch, your will is hapless…"

"Or maybe heart to compassionate…"

They were locked in silence, an impassive stare from the female and an anxious stare back from the male whose hands were currently balled. Yohmei scratched the back of his head, sighing in a very Yoh like manner, before sidestepping and thrusting his foot down on the position he had shifted from. He pulled his foot back as the floor groaned to life, pulling the tile back as Kino observed quietly, grasping her cane firmly.

When the dust settled upon the dull wooden floor, a gaping hole appeared, seeming to dive into complete and utter darkness. "Are you going? Because I too will go with you." He muttered in a questioning way, shuffling his feet.

He was met by a brisk and indefinite nod.

**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - **

"Sneaking around like the sly one you are eh?"

Kyoko abruptly jerked at the slurred voice behind him and whipped his head around to be met by a pale and transparent figure looming in front of him, eye lids drooped, ghostly hand shaking, gripped around a similar looking (in ways of you could put your hand straight through it) beer can.

He blinked, and then swiftly regained composure, recognising the drunken ghost peering down at him as if he were some sort of awing creature.

He waved a hand in front of the face, snapping the ghost from his dazed state, who promptly took another swig of what was alcohol. With an upturned nose, Kyoko swung himself around and stomped off, but it was futile to escape the pesky ghost's clutches as he simply materialised by his side, the side glances bristling with piped curiosity.

The ghost called himself Hash and was an irritating one at that. After first stumbling into Funbari, he had been pestered dramatically by the spirit, while Chocolove and Tamao had gone searching for HoroHoro in the north of the small town. He was meant to be hanging around that darned Asakura Yoh's house and upon hearing the name, Kyoko humphed, every.single.time…

"Kyoko-sama???????????????? Ohhhhhhhhaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyoooooooooo! Are you ignoring me? Do you want me burn in hell?"

"Hell yeah…"

"Ha, well I'm already dead and the Great Spirit classified me as someone from heaven so there!"

"Why the hell are you down on this crummy planet then instead of living that highlife?"

"Oh puh-lease! The Great Spirit is such an uptight party pooper, never let's us have any fun!"

"That's probably because you're an insane drunk, baka…"

"Who you callin' drunk? 'Least I don't have girly hair!"

"S'cuse me? Did I hear that right, because it sounded like you were asking for a death wish?"

"Oh Puh-lease! Don't get me started! I DIDN'T ask for one then his high and mighty comes down telling me my time on earth is done! Oh, and just 'cause you're all spiky and what not, don't mean you can get out of being girly."

"How may I ask is this girly?"

"Its long."

"So…?"

"So…nuthin'. S'long and that's the epitome of girliness."

"I prefer Chocolove over you. That's an insult by the way."

"Just remember my girly girl mate…"

"Guh…nani?"

"2 in 1 is the best thing for frizz."

**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -**

"What do you make of him? Your…"

He was quietened by a malicious smirk as the man brushed his ragged red hair from his face. He leaned forwards, poking his head out into clear view as the sun beat down on it, but he was still enveloped by the shadows. Letting the bustling noise of cars feel his ears, his grip on the railing tightened, before he turned to his shipper, nose crinkling in disgust.

The shipper shuddered and the man's violet eyes tinged with a mahogany flashed in amusement. He revelled in the feeling of knowing that these insignificant beings squirmed under his looks.

"Friend, allow me to gift you with a well sewn saying." He suggested, releasing the rails from his death grasp. They appeared to sigh in relief, the tarnished and stripping silver paint that adorned them no longer becoming sullen.

The cowering man gave a messy but quick nod as the man, of around fifteen walked slowly; tantalisingly towards him, lifting his eyes to meet petrified brown.

""It's like an endless cycle. When one half of someone dies, the other side is dragged along with it."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

He clambered on; stumbling over dislodged boulders and slipping on moist grass. His head was swarmed with pain and his hand unconsciously drifted to the dried red covering the three long marks down his chest. Sweat clung to him as he pushed on, his stamina, scarce at best being used beyond normal limits.

His eyes widened when he noted a cave tucked in behind mounted rocks and extremely wild grass, but even the mere movement made his forehead crease as he suppressed a groan of pain. He dragged himself towards it, all the while being clamoured by thoughts he could not hope to answer.

_Where was he?_

At the newly found entrance he allowed a shuttering breath to pass his lips but silently slipped into the cave; as silent as a flickering shadow.

_When was he?_

He rubbed his temple with one hand as he went along, soon it occurred to him this was not an ordinary cave considering its design though.

_Who was he?_

He crept along the narrow, winding and blackened corridors, his hand guiding him as it slid over the nooks and crannies of the walls. He came to an abrupt stop when he was met by a pair of crimson orbs.

He cocked a brow; alarmed when the figure crept out from the inky blackness, to reveal a face that reflected similarity.

The man was stern faced, with a protruding jaw and lips locked in a constant and firm frown. His neatly cropped brown hair was greying; withering along with him as he studied the injured boy, eyes narrowing.

With a raspy grumble, the boy collapsed to his feet, the last thing that was felt to his numbing body the calloused touch of a hand to the bare flesh of his aching shoulder. Then, he was left to fall.

**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - **

Hao grimaced as he willed himself to find his feet; his stomach gave a crunching in pain, its protest very much valid. Cocking his head back, his bleary eyed vision met the grey of the sky and he blinked, the cold vapour around him skimming past his cheeks.

Ryoi's face contorted into a look of agony, but he opened his eyes all the same, the first thought crossing his mind being where the hell they were. Ah, it was all coming back…

He was lying back first on a snow deep ground.

Hao was doing the same.

Opacho was blinking in confusion at the scene before her undeveloped eyes.

Though Ryoi had been knocked out and knocked senseless, in his groggy mind he perceived that they were royally screwed to this point and in obvious need to training, but that would not happen if they were both hammered more. Well, at least Opacho would be too busy grieving to giggle at his motionless body but…

'_Iie Ryoi! No negativity! Positive equals the silver lining! Now get the hell up!'_

He forced himself to his feet, wavering now and then but steadied himself. Opacho heard the movement and quickly looked around to see Ryoi dusting himself down and shaking the sleep from himself.

"Ryoi-sama! Please save Hao-sama! The Halloween snowman cheated!"

'_Sure it did…wait Halloween snowman? Did I miss THAT much when I was out?'_

"Hmmk, but YOU need to treat me with better respect, got it!" Ryoi challenged, pointing at Opacho accusingly.

She nodded in desperation and perhaps the hard glare would have softened if not for the fact he had to remain with a steely and determined look.

Ritsuuen coiled around Harsen protectively, before he entered it as an orb.

Scooping the blade up Ryoi charged, causing the beast to swivel around. It let out a roar and proceeded to scoop up a vast amount of snow, hurling the clump at him. It was oddly fast paced, but zipping along the ground at a fast pace, he found he could not halt. Nor did he have to, as the clump was countered by a blast f fire striking it from nowhere and causing it to revert to a harmless liquid.

He cranked his head to the side to be met by grinning brown eyes and a blade embraced by dancing flames. For probably the first time, Ryoi grinned gratefully at the eldest Asakura twin, who sauntered towards him.

The reunion was short lived though, as the beast came towards them. They raised their weapons, Opacho viewing nervously at the sidelines, but the outcome and victor of this battle was an uninvited guest…

A shadow zipped past, making the creature stop. It zipped all over it, seemingly doing nothing, but soon thick black lines cracked out over the body, making the creature scream.

It reeled back, before it was reduced to a large pool of water seeping through the rough snow.

The duo stood in silence, speculating as a bouncy Opacho joined them, before Hao saw who had came to their help.

He raked his hand through his unruly, spiky dark blonde hair, gifting them a charismatic grin. His green eyes were jubilant and showed no signs of nervousness as he approached them. His feet appeared confined in the narrow shoes he wore, but he wasn't outwardly bothered as he hopped to them.

"Arigatou for that, but why the hell is it still snowing? Are there more?" Ryoi asked prudently, frowning lightly as the boy around their own ages grin widened, even if it was to an impossible extent.

"Of course. And you look like you need some help. Mind me tagging along?"

"Your name…?"

"Oh gomen!" They blinked when he bowed in a graceful manner. When he was standing straight again his grin met their bemused gawks. "Father always said manners were important. My name is Hiroko. Yours?"

"Ooh…Asakura Hao."

"Wait! How did you keep the thing melted like that?"

"That's why I'm here! You need a special charm to beat these things! A hell lot of different charms at that!"

"Who appointed you?" Hao questioned, ruffling Opacho's bushy hair as she glomped her Hao-sama.

"Madam Crimson."

"Ah…"

"Who…?"

"The fortune teller that got me into helping these human slave drivers in the first place…"

"Oh…and I ASSUMED you liked the attention from these female slave drivers…"

"Did I say I didn't?"

"…," he turned to Hiroko, inspecting him and folding his arms, "hey, so are you gonna tell us about these charms or what?"

"Your name would be a good start beforehand though…"

"Oh right, gomen. Names Yuusha Ryoi. So, how 'bout we walk, talk and get accustomed?"

"Sounds cool, but you guys may wanna rest, you're sorta…bloodied."

Hao and Ryoi exchanged blinks, before Hao cocked his head to the side in a questioning manner.

"But the inn was destroyed."

Hiroko beamed.

"Who said anything about houses?"

**Tsuzuku**

**A/N: P Hello people who are reading this. I gave a plot chapter for you as I may not be able to update for a while. So, um…what would some chatty author say…um…I suppose if you have any rants or questions, review or email and…wow, I must really be closed O.o **

**Anyway, please R+R again : ) And If you like that Maple Story Game thing, then check out something called "Raikon Story" on my favourites list and please review that too : ) See ya next chapter!**

**Chapter VI Preview:**

"So you spend your days frolicking in your darkness as fear pushes you away from the havoc you have bestowed!"

"Wow, family history? Hmm ok, if you really wanna know about me…"

"I can train you…I can make you stronger against and with your element, which will be vital at the moment…"

The brunette craned his neck up, only to have his eyes widen, brown eyes shaking with confusion and shock at the thing that loomed and towered above him. It was truly unusual…

The ice wolf of the same breed that assaulted HoroHoro charged at her, before he was halted by a spear plunging into the side of his stomach. He came to a stop, turned his head, ears twitching and let out a low, menacing growl…

**End Chapter VI Preview**


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